


Walt

by Minor Fandoms (HMSquared)



Category: Breaking Bad, The Booth at the End
Genre: Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Crying, Dialogue Heavy, How Do I Tag, Self-Defense, Swearing, The Man doesn't like swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:20:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27821389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HMSquared/pseuds/Minor%20Fandoms
Summary: The Man meets a chemistry teacher with cancer.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 2





	Walt

**Author's Note:**

> I'm assuming you're here because you've watched The Booth at the End. If you haven't, it's on Amazon Prime Video, go check it out.
> 
> Based on the first season, I don't think The Man likes swearing. So his interactions were fun to write for this.

He was tall, maybe around the Man’s height. A thinning mustache adorned his face. Sorrow lingered in his eyes.

“Are you him?” The Man looked up from his morning tea. His guest sighed. “May I join you for a pastrami sandwich?” Close enough. He gestured to the booth as a name appeared.

“Walter.”

“Walt.”

“...Walt.” The Man silently sighed; this was going to be a fun conversation. “What is it you want?”

“I have cancer.” The words tumbled out in a rush. The Man’s face twitched in genuine surprise. Walt didn’t seem sad. “And...look, it can do whatever to me. But my wife...she’s pregnant. Our son has cerebral palsy. It’s a fucking mess.” Another twitch at his strong language.

“What do you want, then?”

“I want them to be supported.” Walt looked at the Man’s tea, trying to focus on anything but his face. “I’m a chemistry teacher. You can probably guess how much it pays.”

“Yes. So...money?” A nod.

“After I’m gone, I want them to be secure. Skyler, that’s my wife, she’ll never have to work again.”

“What does she do for a living?” Walt seemed surprised by the question.

“Various odd jobs. She’s also a bookkeeper. Finances and stuff.” He finally looked up at the Man. “Is that going to affect anything?”

“Not for me.”

“So...how does this work?”

“I give you a task. You complete it, your family will be secure for the rest of Skyler’s life.” Walt nodded in subdued excitement.

The Man slowly opened his book. Words danced on the page in front of him. They finally formed a sentence.

He raised an eyebrow. In all the time he’d been here...well, this task was odd, even by the Man’s standards.

“You need to cook crystal meth.” Walt’s cheeks twitched.

“Okay. How?”

“I…” The Man shut his book, still reeling. “I don’t know. That is for you to find out.”

“Okay.” Walt got up and left without so much as a goodbye.

The Man honestly wasn’t sure what to expect. Half of him expected to see Walt again; half of him expected Skyler to come in and start screaming.

Two weeks turned into a month. Others came and went. But just as the Man was about to lose faith, Walt returned.

He was bald now, more serious. The Man gestured to the bench.

“Walt. How are things?” Silence. “You haven’t returned for a while.”

“I found a partner.” Blunt, straight to the point. Okay.

“Alright. Who is he?”

“One of my former students.” Walt interlaced his fingers. “His name is Jesse Pinkman.”

“Why him?” The Man wrote his name down.

“He was a small time dealer, happened to be in the neighborhood. A little weak-stomached, but helpful.” Walt’s eyes glistened with purpose. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask. How long do I have to go for?”

“Until you make enough money,” he replied.

“Yeah, but… Do I have to keep going after that?”

“Do you want to?”

Three weeks later, a man with short brown hair entered the diner. He stumbled a little, hungover but not drunk. The Man looked up as he approached.

“Yo, I heard the pastrami sandwich is good here.” A name appeared as he sat down.

“Jesse.” Could this be the very same Walt had mentioned? The Man didn’t ask.

“So, I heard you can make things happen and shit.”

“Yes. What is it that you want to happen?” Jesse looked over his shoulder. After a moment, he leaned close. The Man copied him.

“I’ve been selling meth with...an acquaintance of mine.”

“You sound uncertain of that.”

“We have history.” Swallowing, Jesse pulled his head away. “But lately, things have gotten...crazy.”

“How so?” The Man raised an eyebrow as he jotted things down.

“He’s...an egomaniac, man. A real bitch.” What was it with these guys and language? “Calling himself Heisenberg now.”

“And that concerns you?”

“Yes!” After a moment, Jesse pulled off his jacket. There were fist-shaped bruises on his arms. “We got into a fight last week. I thought he was going to kill me.” The Man’s eyes uncontrollably widened.

“Alright. So...you want him dead?”

“I just want out of the business. And…” Jesse swallowed as he put the jacket back on. “He can’t keep getting away with it.” If the Man didn’t know any better, he saw tears in the young man’s eyes. Sympathy washed over him.

“I can make that happen.” He opened the book with expectations of another crazy task. This one was slightly normal. “You need to cut your hair and drive to Alaska.” Jesse scoffed.

“Okay. What do I do once I get there?”

“You chop down a tree and harvest it. Wood, sap, everything.”

“Any tree?”

“Any tree.”

“I have a problem.” Walt sat down without so much as a hello. The Man blinked.

“Okay. What’s the problem?”

“Jesse, my partner, the one I told you about? He’s missing.”

“Are you still able to cook without him?”

“Yes?”

“Then it’s not my problem.” Walt’s face turned beat red.

“If I get caught, what happens?”

“Depends on how close to your goal you are.” The Man swallowed. “Why are you so concerned about this Jesse?”

“I…” Walt trailed off. Shutting his eyes, he took a deep breath. “I’m worried he might go to the police. If he does that, I’m finished.”

“Not necessarily.” His head jackknifed up.

“What?” The Man shrugged.

“You’re only done when you say you’re done.”

Jesse returned shortly after that, freshly trimmed with a smile on his face. He slid into the booth.

“You seem happy, Jesse.”

“I...needed a change of scenery.” Jesse sighed contently. “And I found a tree. Chopped it down.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a wooden flower. The middle was adorned with an amber stone. He slid it across the table toward the Man.

“What’s this?”

“Payment. A thank you.” Another content sigh. “I think I’m going to move there, leave everything behind.”

“What about your partner?” Jesse suddenly looked nervous.

“I sent a tip to the police.” The Man’s eyes widened. “Anonymous and everything, obviously. Hopefully they arrest him soon.”

Late that evening, Jesse returned with tears in his eyes. The Man raised an eyebrow.

“Everything alright?” He shook his head, slowly plopping onto the bench.

“He’s dead.”

“Who?”

“My partner, Walt...he’s dead.” This was news. The Man opened his book as Jesse tried to collect himself.

“What happened?”

“I tried...I tried to give him the other flower. Apologized for going AWOL, too. And he got...he got mad. Started screaming. Pulled a gun on me.” The Man’s eyes widened in shock.

“Did you kill him?” Jesse shook his head, a tear bouncing off his nose onto the table.

“I didn’t have to. We were outside his house, and the police showed up to arrest him. I hit the pavement…” He buried his head in his hands. “There was so much fucking blood.”

“So...the police shot him?”

“Yeah. Asked me what happened. I told them the truth, he went apeshit.” Jesse shakily exhaled. “They don’t know what I did...that I cooked meth with him. So...I’m going back to Alaska.” He reached across the table. “I don’t know how you did it...but thank you.”

The Man shook his hand. When they broke apart, the other flower was in his hand.

Maybe he could give it to Doris.


End file.
